Helpful

I don't know if it is the age or what, but Q2 is in a very helpful stage. If C3 is crying Q2 will run and get her her blankie and a stuffed animal, without being prompted. When she sees another child cry, she asks why, and when I suggest it she goes over and kisses them.

The other day at the doctor's office, Q2 saw a girl with a book she had already examined and found to be ... lacking.

Q2: (runs over to girl) Girl, this book broken!
Girl:
Q2: I get you another book.
Girl:
Q2: (runs to get book that is more than just a cover) Here, girl. (Takes broken book) I put this away.

I thought it was cute that she was concerned that the girl was reading a book with no pages.

I vowed when I was 12 that I wouldn't be nursing a child who could walk over and ask for it.

Q started out an incredible sleeper. I'd put her down when she was sleepy, and she'd fall asleep.

Then around 6 months she started getting a little more ... active. So I encouraged the nursing to sleep. Which worked very well. Very well indeed. She never really had taken to a pacifier, but she definitely took to the nuring to sleep. Loved it. She still loves it. Naps are a definite, and bedtime is a sometimes.

So ... over the past year we've slowly been trying to get her to sleep on her own again. With some success. She did learn to fall asleep on her own for naps and at bedtime. Mostly because we did a lot of pat-pat, talking, holding, reading, calming, sitting, and quietly leaving or telling her we had to check on ... C3 or something else.

Everytime we've tried Cry It Out it has blown up in our faces like this: tears, tears, tears, screaming, screaming, screaming screaming SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAMING!
And so we couldn't last.

But now that she is 2, Q2 is ready. I gave her the sleep rules (which we modified over the next couple of days):

Nurse Mumma
Get in bed & lie down
Be quiet - no crying
Close your eyes
Go to sleep
Get a red lollipop in the morning

Yes, indeed, that is a huge honking red lollipop at the end of that list. But whatever.

The first time I tried this was the night C3 went the emergency room with C39 for her concussion. It worked beautifully. Perfectly.

The next night ... not so well. And the night after, worse. Then, of course, we realized Q2 had a fever of over 101, so perhaps that was why it wasn't working.

Got that taken care of ... and gave her the rules again. And she started manipulating again. She's all for the rules before bed, but when it comes time to be in bed she wants pat pat. Then she has to pee. Then she wants to nurse some more. Then she wants to read. And then talk. And so forth.

[And ... she's been waking up at 4:30 am and NOT GOING BACK TO SLEEP.]

Finally, I said enough, and stuck her in bed and said goodnight and an hour and a half later she was asleep. When she woke at 4:30 am ... we ignored her until 5:45 (I figure wake time is 6:00 ... and she can't tell time yet, so 5:45 was OK).

The next night ... the same thing, except I put up with less (none?) of the requests except to pee and then I went out for a walk. C39 tells me she cried around 20 minutes. And woke up at 6:30 am.

Currently, she is not asleep. But, I put her in bed a bit ago, she cried (yelled at me actually) for about 2 minutes and now is just chatting.

So, I'm thrilled with the progression of things. Fingers are crossed that this actually was the right time to try CIO and sleep rules and she is ready to GO TO SLEEP ON HER OWN!

Next step: Naptime. And then getting rid of nursing altogether. I'd love that.

more yummy meals

Milk and orange juice.
I hyped it up as a "creamsicle".
I tried the soymilk and oj version. YUUUCCCHHHHHY.

Update

C3 vomited in the car on the way to Holy Cross. (glad it wasn't my car, but that is beside the point).

It turns out it is a combination of viral respitory infection (who knew??) and a mild concussion.

We have to wake her in the middle of the night. Which works well with the pee thing, since she'll probably sleep heavy but not want a diaper.

I'm glad we took her.

With all the bumps we thought we'd be taking Q2

C3 whacked her head around 4:30, began complaining that her head hurt, all she wanted to do was sit on the couch. Then cuddle on the couch with her dogs.

Head still hurt. Gave her Tylenol around 5, 5:15.

Head still hurt. Feeling warm, but chalked it up to the cuddling. Then she fall asleep on the couch for a brief moment until we woke her up.

Head still hurt. Not just on the top now, but also her forhead. No appetite at dinner at 5:45. We realized she was not just hot, she was hotter.

Head still hurt. But she was ready for bed, wanted to skip tub. 6:00 I took her temp: 101.5F, with no obvious reason.

Head still hurt. Looked up concussions and fever was a symptom ...

So, we called the doctor and by 6:15 she was on her way with C39 to Holy Cross Hospital. Well, I'm sure they are there now, it is 7:07, and I left Q2's room at 6:52.

I know the time I left her room because I put Q2 down for bed. Trying a new approach. We'll see how it goes. More on that later.

Where do babies come from

Well, not exactly. C3 has apparently been asking where she was BEFORE she was in my tummy. She apparently doesn't care much for that. But C39 mentioned that we lived in a different house before this one and C3 asked if she lived there too. When C39 said no, she asked if she was in my tummy. When he said no, she then asked where she was before she was in my tummy.

Good question.

I think C39's answer involved the "unformed spirit" and "I don't know" ...

Daddy I did - mommy come see

I am not always the ideal mother. Sometimes I forget to do things. Like ... put a diaper on C3 before bed. Sometimes I remember before I go to sleep to check her and diaper her, but usually it would end in a 2 am wake up, a wet bed, and a crying toddler. Oh, and two cranky parents. One who is more cranky because the other forgot to diaper C3.

And C3's diapers are typically SOAKED. Honkers. Weighing 5 pounds or more each morning. I suppose that's a stretch. But pretty loaded. I've been expecting to be buying diapers until she was 17.

Until 2 nights ago. When C3 came down in the morning she said she'd been dry all night. I asked to see her diaper. She refused, saying I'd forgotten to diaper her. Oh. So I checked her bed. Well, her puppy nest, but that is another story. Dry. Smelled sweet, fresh even. Not like a wet diaper at all.

Hooray! She apparently CAN hold it. She told me she didn't drink all night and she got up to go when she had to go (I don't remember that, but whatever!). I'm thrilled!

I do wonder if C3 was feeling the social pressure since her sister can stay dry during naps now ...